Saturday, April 1, 2023

A for...

Welcome to Blogging  A to Z 2023. My theme for this year is Childhood Flashbacks/Memories. For Day One, I present....

#AtoZChallenge 2023 badge A


ALBUMS: 

The word album had many meanings when I was a child. For one thing, it could mean a photo album of family pictures:


Though it's been years since I've looked at them, the photo albums in my house are still in the hall closet on the shelf above the bed sheets. It seems almost shameful that this is one of the lost arts caused by the Internet. I do kind of miss actual photos. The only good thing I have found about digital photos is not having to buy film, taking a few extra shots just to use up the rest of the roll, and waiting a week or so for the photos to be done. 

Another kind of album I had a child was one for autographs by people from school. I had this one:


I'm not sure how many others had one of these things. Of course in junior high school and high school, we got autographs from fellow students in our yearbooks. I now wonder if this is still a thing today.
 
And there were albums for collecting stickers (I will discuss more about stickers in another post):



And of course, everyone remembers this kind of album:


Though I was mainly a cassette listener, transitioning to CDs in the 1990s. I still have many of my CDs (more on this to come).


APPLE COMPUTER:



This of course, is an old Apple Computer, with its former colorful logo. My first exposure to Apple Computers was in school. We would go to the computer lab for math or English class, and sometimes to play games. I seemed to be the only one who did not play Snoggle, a Pac-Man knockoff. Others seemed excited that it had come, but I stayed with playing Hangman.

I did not have an actual computer until I was in college, as I needed one for typing papers. I have been Apple Macintosh user ever since.

 

AFTERSCHOOL SPECIALS:



Anyone who grew in the 1980s (and also in the 70s) will remember these occasionally airing programs for kids on ABC. I can only recall a few right off hand. I was rarely ever home when they were on. Though I can recall the series intros:


The specials were released on DVD, and I rented one or two the seasons that I could find when I first signed up for Netflix in 2007. Kristy McNichol was in at least two of the ones I saw then. 

Airing these specials meant ABC stations would pre-empt their normal afternoon programming. Often during that time of day, it was soap operas and syndicated programs. When syndicated talk shows, like Oprah Winfrey's, started becoming popular and profitable, the Afterschool Specials became less frequent, eventually disappearing altogether. Some can be seen on Youtube.


ANIMATED SHOWS:

Of course, my childhood would not have been complete without watching animated shows. From the ones on Saturday morning, to reruns of shows like The Flintstones on weekdays afternoons. I also liked the Schoolhouse Rock segments in between cartoons on Saturday on ABC (more on this to come). One of my most watched Saturday doing cartoon was The Smurfs. I had the stuffed and miniature toys of the characters, among other things. 

And way too many other most-watched cartoons to mention!


ANIMAL CRACKERS:

One of my favorite snacks as a child. This was the box design I grew up with:


___________________________________________________________________________

ALL for today. Will "B" back on Monday.

23 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I had an autograph album too as a child, I'm an Apple Mac user, and my fave animated character was always Bugs Bunny!

Elena said...

I kind of miss photo albums too. I loved looking through them as a kid, and it'd be nice to bring them back as I'm sure putting them together is a very therapeutic.
My A post

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love the trip down memory lane. I will B back Monday too & see what’s next. Excellent theme. J-Dub

Bernadette said...

Ah, sticker books! I remember collecting stickers with my sisters. There was even a store in Salinas called The Price is Right like the game show where they sold stickers of all kinds. The goal would be to stick them once you "grew up". I never know what happened to the sticker albums though. It is a great memory.

Jennifer (UnfoldAndBegin) said...

I saw the photo album and recognized some of the pictures...not the people, just the types of photos we all used to take. I still have albums and a record player; they're making a comeback.

Maggie McLeod said...

From someone who loves nostalgia, this was fun to read. You covered a lot of A’s!

Donna B. McNicol said...

I so wish I had my photo albums I made as a child. They got lost in the rubble that was home after my mother passed. My father put it all outside and the Florida weather and humidity ruined them. Sigh...

DB McNicol - Small Delights, Simple Pleasures, and
Significant Memories
My Snap Memories - My life in Black & White

Susanne Matthews said...

Lots of nostalgia here. Thanks for sharing.

Astrid said...

Thanks so much for sharing these memories. I remember the autograph album too. I had one with a rabbit called Nijntje (from a Dutch picture book series) on it. As someone who grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s, I mostly listened to music on CDs and the radio.

Amanda said...

Lovely post. This brought back so many of my childhood memories 😃

Darcy said...

Love a trip down memory lane. I also loved putting together photo albums. Today I use Mixbook - I create an album using the photos I take throughout the year and have it printed. I've also created and given albums to friends. Cheers to kicking off the A to Z Challenge.

Deborah Weber said...

Fun post. And you have me craving animal crackers. For me elephants were always the treasure to look for.

Anonymous said...

I’m not anonymous. I am God from Heaven aka. Mario . I started a scrap book when I was a kid. I loved it so much . I still to this day scrap book. No a days it’s mostly pictures of my dogs and garden. When I was younger, I did not know scrap booking was for everyone. I realize my dad did it. When I told him I love to scrap book , he was pleased. I showed my work and he was impressed. I love art office supplies . I have a couple of boxes full of supplies. My pens and jell pens are nice to use. I love making home made post cards and envelopes.

John Holton said...

This is going to be fun! Great start to the Challenge!

jabblog said...

A nice trip down memory lane, though some of your memories are alien to me, coming from the slightly stuffy UK!

Sue Bursztynski said...

Hi Jamie! Some wonderful memories there. You are absolutely right that the Internet has lost us the joy of photo albums. At the same time, it takes up a lot less space and my old photos faded with time, something I don’t think will happen with my digital photos, as long as my digital albums aren’t wiped.

I am a fellow Apple girl. The first Apple computer I had access to was a 2E at work. It was similar to the one in your photo. My current one is the most recent MacBook Pro.

Pradeep Nair said...

Albums nowadays have moved to digital space. However, the beauty of the tangible physical album, which we can hold in our hands, is a speciality that will never fade.
I am blogging in April on the "chemicals in our life".
Do have a look.
https://bpradeepnair.blogspot.com/2023/04/a-for-aluminium.html

Sue McPeak said...

Good for you!!! Hanging on to the Albums of your childhood. Enjoyed this Letter A post and the trip down memory lane. There's a lot to say for Technologies Album Creating of 21st Century. Digital photos printed off cell phone in minutes, scrapbooking supplies, and Photo Book Publishing Companies. Even social media entities...ie Facebook...has Albums for your photos. Great start to AtoZ 2023.
CollectInTexasGal

ghostmmnc said...

What a fun look back at so many things I remember from those days. Super start to the A to Z challenge. I'll look forward to your future posts! :)

Computer Tutor said...

Those are great childhood memories. Where did 'animal crackers' go?!

Frewin55 said...

Great post -a comprehensive roundup of albums. The digital picture folder on the computer is not quite the same and the way digital music can be shuffled and playlisted means that we don't often listen to a whole album in the way the artist and producer envisioned it - shame...
Visiting from how-would-you-know.com

TWW said...

Well done on starting the Challenge.

Narayana Rao K.V.S.S. said...

Yes. I remember that I collected autographs. But where is it now? Also, I have to see album of photos. Did not see for a long time.

#AtoZChallenge - Second Post. Books on Industrial Engineering - A Collection.
https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2023/04/books-on-industrial-engineering.html
https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2023/04/books-on-industrial-engineering.html


#AtoZChallenge 2023 Theme: A to Z of Industrial Engineering
https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-to-z-of-industrial-engineering.html